Chapter 54 : The Nuisance

I picked up the chestnut that had rolled away and offered it to the creature again, but the squirrel just glared at me, seemingly having no intention of taking it.

“Are you going to keep doing that?”

When I tilted my head and asked, the squirrel quickly turned its back and tried to run off.

The time the creature and I had spent together wasn't so short that I couldn't predict that much.

I quickly grabbed its torso.

A brief standoff ensued between me and the squirrel struggling to escape.

“Do as you like. I don't mind staying like this all day.”

It clearly seemed to understand my words: either hurry up and return to human form, or continue this standoff.

Its black eyes, darting back and forth, scanned the room.

Soon, having completely accepted that there was nowhere to run, the creature shut its eyes tightly.

Its small mouth opened.

What came out from between them was not the squeaking sound I had heard every day.

“No need to transform. We can talk just like this.”

An androgynous voice flowed out of the squirrel’s body.

“As expected of the child we have been waiting for. To corner me like this.”

I hadn't really done much.

I didn't know the reason, but I felt a sense of rejection at the creature's gaze, which looked at me as if proud.

I scowled and asked.

“You called me that last time, too. Who are you to have been waiting for me?”

The squirrel smiled, raising one corner of its mouth.

It was just as bizarre as a person squeaking like a squirrel.

“A noble existence, greater than human. If you knew who I was, you would feel sinful for calling me 'you'.”

The creature spoke boastfully, making the most arrogant expression possible with a squirrel's facial muscles.

Watching the creature speak, its two black eyes sparkling, a question suddenly occurred to me.

“You can talk even in your squirrel state?”

The noble existence in the form of a squirrel raised one eyebrow, as if quite offended that I wasn't very interested in its words.

“……Yes, but that is not important. The important thing is.”

“Then the squeaking or kkwek-kking sounds until now were made on purpose?”

“You could say that. But……”

“You're not originally an animal, but?”

I felt my human dignity chip away a little when I turned into a horse and neighed, you know?

“……”

“You deliberately imitated an animal?”

There was no way the creature didn't catch my meaning: 'A noble existence that humans can only look up to?'

The squirrel completely shut its mouth.

“Well, whether human or animal, or something even higher, they're all probably noble existences, so there's no need to feel too hurt.”

The creature glared at me as I spoke mockingly.

“Ugh.”

On my instantly bitten finger, blood welled up in the shape of small front teeth.

The noble existence was more narrow-minded and violent than I thought.

***

My memory of that day, the day I blocked the wolf's attack, was hazy.

It was true I had lost consciousness once because of my limp, weak body.

However, perhaps thanks to the subconscious thought that I might die if I completely let go of my consciousness, or perhaps because of the grating voice coming from outside, there was a moment when my mind returned enough to hear the surrounding sounds.

My head was hot and my eyes stung as if I were lightly asleep, but I managed to turn my head and cast my gaze toward the entrance where the sound was coming from.

In my dim vision, I saw a doll-like figure standing on two feet in front of the tree hollow's entrance.

At the voice that followed, thoughts like 'is that a madman practicing a play alone in the middle of the forest,' 'if so, which should I fear more, that madman or the medium-sized animal,' and so on, rose and fall.

Although I was able to realize it was having a conversation when the wolf howl echoed in response.

-Calm down, I said I was sorry before. You stepped on my tail once, didn't you? Let's just call it even.

From the content of the conversation I heard, I could also sense that the something standing on two feet was the squirrel in question.

Only then did I recall the creature's actions, which had been too bizarre to just understand and dismiss as a simple animal.

No matter how peculiar animal reactions were in this world, I didn't notice that.

I've been completely played.

While it was absurd, on one hand, I was also relieved to think that my ability to turn into an animal wasn't a completely new type of thing.

What stuck clearly in my ears after that was a voice mixed with mischief and anticipation.

-That's the human we've been waiting for.

Waiting for me?

My eyes, which I couldn't even open properly, narrowed on their own.

A complete stranger suddenly having expectations of me is a dangerous sign.

Because people usually have expectations when they're about to ask for a favor beyond my abilities, or when they're about to entrust me with a strange responsibility.

Or perhaps, it could be both.

Without even time to worry about how to deal with that thing, my consciousness, which had been barely holding on, was losing its strength.

Through my heavy eyelids, the sound of laughter, clearly made by the owner of the two legs blurring from view, rang in my eardrums.

***

Time passed like that, and the creature still remains by my side.

“Still, there’s no need to tie me up this tightly, is there?”

Though its situation wasn't exactly great.

The small squirrel glared at me, who had wrapped it tightly in clothes and tied it to a chair, and spoke.

“If you return to your human form like last time, I think you could undo that much.”

The creature sighed at my answer and said.

“Why are you so obsessed with outward appearances? If you obsess over appearances, you will not be able to become a great person.”

“My vessel was originally the size of a soy sauce dish, so you don't need to worry. You, whose vessel is as vast as the Pacific, no, as vast as the sea, probably don't care about appearances, so isn't it fine to be in human form?”

As if it didn't like my answer, the creature sighed again and muttered.

“I did think it was very strange that you seemed to have no thought of giving a name to such a cute animal you were raising. Just when did you notice……”

Come to think of it, the creature was right.

We've lived under the same roof for a fairly long time, but we haven't even properly introduced ourselves.

“Right. You probably already know, but my name is Ran Abalan. What should I call you?”

As if my question wasn't to its liking this time either, the creature mumbled, seeming to hold back its words for a moment, then spat out.

“……It's El. You can call me El.”

If it's El, it's El. 'You can call me El.'

The creature, having stated its reluctance to reveal its name quite elegantly, turned its head away sharply.

Then again, that much was a fitting introduction between the creature and me right now.

Since my real name isn't Ran Abalan either.

“Alright, El. Let's get straight to the point. I'm going to be leaving this country soon. So you should go back to the forest you originally lived in, or if you have other things to do……”

“What?!”

The creature snapped its head around so fast I wondered if its tiny neck had broken.

I had to pause my words for a moment at the more violent reaction than I expected.

“You’re leaving the country? Why? For what reason?”

Why, you ask. Because the protagonist will be here soon, and then the original story will begin.

Meaning the dogfight will start.

In other words, it also means that an appropriate incident will occur for an insignificant prince to erase his presence.

“Soon, a series of major incidents will occur in the Empire. I don't want to just sit here and watch it all, nor do I want to get involved. So, I'm going to leave……”

“You can't!”

The creature shrieked again, but given its size, it wasn't threatening at all.

“I think you're misunderstanding something. I'm not asking for your understanding or permission right now. I'm just letting you know in advance out of consideration.”

For a time that was short if you call it short, and long if you call it long, the creature had watched me silently, suspiciously so.

The problem was that it really only watched.

While the creature watched me, I observed it as well.

That squirrel, who introduced itself as El, did nothing.

To the point that I suspected the reason it had waited for me for so long wasn't actually for the trivial purpose of receiving an unlimited supply of plumper acorns.

So, the reason I tried to talk to the creature before leaving was, in a way, consideration, and at the same time, personal curiosity.

What on earth do you want?

Of course, there was also a slight wariness about the creature's tenacity in following me anytime, anywhere.

“……You, aren't you from another world?”

The creature's cautious question wasn't particularly surprising.

It said it had waited for me for a long time.

The years Ran Abalan had spent in the Imperial Castle alone were 19 years.

Meaning the one the creature was waiting for was not, at least, the original owner of this body.

“That's right.”

As I obediently nodded, even more dissatisfaction surfaced on El's face.

“Then you must have a purpose for coming all the way here. Like becoming a hero to seize wealth and honor, or vowing to annihilate all the Imperial family bastards, something like that!”

That's the kind of purpose people like the protagonist or the protagonist's comrades usually have.

I don't want anything other than just getting out of here alive.

If I had to say, maybe just living out the rest of my life moderately, in a place unrelated to the Imperial family or fighting?

“No, not at all.”

“What?! Then what was the reason for moving so hard, for trying to use your power so hard until now? Why talk to me now? Wasn't it because you wanted my help?”

“I told you. I was preparing to leave the country. The reason I spoke to you was to decide how to deal with you before I leave.”

El's mouth fell open at my honest answer.

“A very strange one has come! A very peculiar fellow has come!”

The 'strange fellow' listening couldn't feel good.

“I thought something was strange, so you really have no interest at all. I thought maybe you were a cautious fellow, but you just have no thoughts at all!”

The creature, which had been agonizing in front of me, who had suddenly become a 'strange and thoughtless human', snapped its head up.

It was an expression that seemed to have made some decision.

Worrying alone, coming to a conclusion alone... it lives busily in its small body.

“You may have no thoughts, but I have many things to say to you, and many things for you to do. Stubborn child. I didn't want to show this form if possible, but……”

No, if it was that important, there was no need to show it.

What I wanted from the creature right now was just for it to tell me what it wanted from me, and to understand that I wasn't the human who could grant it.

However, the creature's personality was more impatient than I had thought.

Before I could even open my mouth, the form of the squirrel in front of me wavered.

It was the time it takes to blink once.

The moment I thought the fur covering its whole body had disappeared, before I could even chase the afterimage with my eyes, someone in the form of a person was sitting in front of me.

“How about it? Do you feel like talking slowly now?”

The androgynous voice echoed in the room.

A pretty face, with an eye level much lower than mine, was looking at me as if looking down.

I thought I understood a little of the meaning of the creature's words, that it didn't want to reveal its form until the end.

I tore my gaze away from the creature's long, flowing platinum blond hair and looked at its confident, youthful face.

“Horrible……”

Watching anger surge up on the creature's face, I rubbed my temples.